Words That Carry You
That's what poetry can be + replay
Hello! Last night was our third dance with Andrea Gibson’s poem, ‘all of my pain is a spider’.
Once again, we were Graced with it’s medicine. Scroll to the end for the replay and also a special in-person event invite (paid subscribers)
This week, the spider showed up for one participant with a gun and a mouthful of teeth!
What Happens When You Journey With a Poem
The poems don’t change. We do. And they keep revealing what we’re ready to see.
The best way I find to get juice from a poem is to study it. Write it out in your journal, many times; in full and in parts. Meditate on it’s sentences, ideas, images, words through doodles, lettering, collage.
Fully adopt and explore the metaphor. Really get into it.
I like to think of poetry like my old doc marten boots. The ones I would buy off the dealers behind the iLac centre on Moore St in the early 90’s. If you don’t know what Doc Marten boots are, they’re the kind of footwear that will last you decades.
But you have to ‘break them in’ first, which meant wearing them all day everyday with massive socks, using lotions and potions to soften the leather, stuffing them with wet newspaper at night - it was basically a full time job.
And you did it because..well, the alternative was agony. If you wanted to wear docs and not bleed, you had to go through the process to break them in.
Poetry is the same.
If you want to live a ‘right for you’ life and not keep taking ‘wrong for you’ turns, you need a reflective practice.
And that practice, whatever it is (journaling for me) should ‘carry’ you like the kind of shoes that you had to WORK to break in but which will see you through the next couple of decades, at least.
That’s what these weekly sessions are for & what you get as a paid subscriber - it’s a time and space to slow down, create, witness each other and let poetry work its magic.
✨ Scroll Down For Last Night’s Replay + Next Session Details + Exclusive Event Invite.
See you soon.
Amanda x
P.s… If you’re into embodied living, nature, movement, yoga, hiking & adventure - and you live in Ireland - this event is co facilitated by my very good friend & yoga instructor Hannah Sara & I *urge* (like, super urge) you to check it out.